Abstract
Purpose:
To compare the retinal vascular parameters between patients with acute Dengue Fever infection and healthy normal controls, and to correlate with hematological and biochemical markers.
Methods:
This was a prospective case-control study. 64 patients with Dengue infection were recruited and 127 age-gender-ethnicity matched normal healthy controls were selected from a Singapore population-based study. Quantitative retinal vascular parameters (retinal vascular calibre, branching angle, tortuosity and fractal dimension) were measured using a semi-automated computer-based program (Singapore I Vessel Assessment, version 3.0) by trained technicians following a standardized protocol.
Results:
Dengue patients were more likely to have larger arterioles (154.78 vs 146.12, p < 0.001), higher arteriole fractal dimension (1276.16 vs 1246.11, p < 0.001), higher venule fractal dimension (1272.89 vs 1227.21, p < 0.001), more tortuous arterioles (7.45 vs 5.39, p < 0.001) and venules (8.56 vs 6.55, p < 0.001), compared to healthy controls. Resolution of infection coincided with normalization of retinal venular size, arteriole and venule fractal dimensions. Change in retinal venular size was associated with hemoglobin level (p = 0.047), while change in venular tortuosity was associated with the total white cell count (p = 0.011).
Conclusions:
Changes in retinal vasculature are associated with Dengue infection and changes in hematological parameters.
Keywords: 688 retina •
550 imaging/image analysis: clinical •
636 pathobiology